Pictured from left to right are Kelcie Ponder, Zavalla ISD; Samantha Saulsbury, Pineywoods Community Academy; Charla Raines, Lufkin ISD; Marlee Jones, Huntington ISD; Brooklyn Hernandez, Diboll ISD; and Aubrey Mays, Hudson ISD, pictured with their certificates for most volunteer hours from their high school. Not pictured is Angel Gutierrez-Hernandez, Central ISD.
The Drug-Free All Stars of Angelina County, funded by a grant from TxDOT, are a group of high school seniors that serve as role models for the community by living an alcohol, tobacco, and drug-free life. Recently, students were honored for their hard work at the annual Drug-Free All Star Banquet, and the students with the most volunteer hours at each high school were recognized. Throughout this school year, the All Stars volunteered their time at local events throughout Angelina County and helped spread awareness about drug and alcohol prevention. Thank you to Justin Holland, a Recovery Support Peer Specialist at the Alcohol and Drug Awareness Council for talking to the All Stars about maintaining their substance-free lifestyle and continuing the good choices they have made this year. Collectively, this group of motivated students volunteered over 1,750 hours this year and worked hard to promote a healthy, substance-free lifestyle on behalf of The Coalition. If you are a current high school junior and interested in the Drug-Free All Star program, please visit https://www.angelinacoalition.org/youth to download an application. Paper copies can be picked up at The Coalition’s office at 1320 S. John Reddit Drive, Suite C or at any Angelina County high school. The deadline for applications is Sunday, May 31st.
Since 1988, The Coalition has focused on eliminating the use of harmful substances by affecting public policy, laws, attitudes, and behaviors, in order to foster healthy life-long choices for the local community. For more information about Drug-Free All Star program, contact Abby Baker at The Coalition at 936-634-9308.
It’s one of the most common questions gardeners ask this time of year.
“My vegetable garden looks great. The plants are healthy. They’re blooming everywhere. But I’m not getting any vegetables.”
Usually, people immediately assume something is wrong. They blame disease, drought stress, poor seed, bad transplants, or fertilizer problems. Some decide they simply need to fertilize more.
But in many cases, the real issue is much simpler.
Poor pollination.
Before we get into the crops that require pollination, let’s clarify something important. Not every garden plant depends on pollination for the part we eat.
Leafy greens like lettuce, spinach, and cabbage do not require pollination for harvest. Neither do underground crops such as potatoes, onions, carrots, radishes, or turnips. In those cases, the leaf, stem, bulb, or root is what we eat—not the fruit produced after pollination.
But once we start talking about tomatoes, peppers, okra, corn, beans, cucumbers, watermelons, and cantaloupes, pollination becomes critically important.
And different vegetables are pollinated in very different ways.
Tomatoes are mostly self-pollinated, but they still need help. The pollen must be shaken loose inside the flower, which is why vibration matters. Bumblebees are excellent tomato pollinators because they “buzz pollinate” by vibrating the flower. Wind movement can help too. Surprisingly, honeybees are not especially effective on tomatoes because the pollen is held tightly inside the bloom.
Peppers are similar to tomatoes. Bumblebees and other native bees are quite helpful as their physical buzzing helps. Honeybees can help somewhat, but larger native bees and bumblebees are much more effective at shaking pollen loose inside the flower.
Okra depends much more heavily on insects. Its flowers resemble hibiscus blooms and attract honeybees, bumblebees, and many native bees. Without insect activity, production drops quickly.
Sweet corn is completely different. Corn relies almost entirely on wind pollination. Pollen falls from the tassels at the top of the plant down onto the silks developing on the ears. If pollination is poor, you’ll see ears with missing kernels or poorly filled-out tips.
Beans, including snap beans and lima beans, are mostly self-pollinated. In many cases, pollination happens before the flowers even open. However, bee activity can still improve production.
Then there are cucumbers, watermelons, cantaloupes, squash, and pumpkins. These crops are highly dependent on bees and other pollinating insects. Honeybees, bumblebees, squash bees, and many native pollinators play a major role in getting fruit to develop properly.
Poor pollination in these crops often leads to misshapen fruit, small fruit that aborts early, or blooms that simply fall off without producing anything.
Unfortunately, many gardeners unknowingly reduce pollinator activity around their own gardens.
Spraying insecticides during the daytime when bees are active can reduce pollination dramatically. Even organic products can harm pollinators if applied improperly. An organic insecticide is still an insecticide. A better approach is to spray only when absolutely necessary and apply products late in the evening when bees are less active.
Plant diversity also matters. Gardens surrounded by flowering plants tend to attract and hold more pollinators than gardens sitting alone in closely mowed turfgrass.
And sometimes, the solution is simply patience.
Extremely hot weather, excessive rainfall, cloudy conditions, or unusually cool nights can temporarily reduce pollinator activity and fruit set even when plants appear perfectly healthy.
The next time your garden is full of blooms but short on vegetables, don’t immediately assume the plants are failing.
Sometimes the problem isn’t the plant at all. It’s that the pollinators never had a chance to do their job.
Healthy gardens depend on healthy pollinator activity. And sometimes the best thing a gardener can do is simply avoid getting in their way.
The combination of a late freeze and a lack of chill hours will likely lead to reduced fruit yields across the state, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert.
Tim Hartmann, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension statewide fruit specialist and assistant professor in the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life SciencesDepartment of Horticultural Sciences, has been connecting with fruit producers and tracking reported chill hours. He emphasized the importance of favorable weather conditions for fruit production.
Temperate fruit crops like peaches, apples, blackberries and blueberries require exposure to cool conditions, causing the plants to go dormant and enabling them to survive the winter weather.
Chill hours issues
Chilling refers to the exposure of plants to this cool weather to overcome dormancy requirements. While there are many models to quantify chilling, the simplest is chill hours, defined as the number of hours in which temperatures remain below 45 degrees during winter.
The chill hours required for each fruit and variety vary; peaches in South Texas may require as few as 200 hours, while another peach variety grown along the Red River may need over 1,000 hours for a good fruit set, Hartmann said.
Improper exposure to cooler weather leads to delayed and sporadic bud break, weak vegetative growth, poor fruit set and abnormal fruit development, ultimately resulting in reduced or, in some cases, zero yield.
Hartmann equated the importance of adequate chill hours to waking up after a night of poor rest.
“If you don’t get enough sleep, you’re likely to oversleep and will not function at your highest capacity,” he said. “In the same way, trees that don’t reach the required chill hours will bud late and not be productive.”
Adverse weather reduces output
Across the state, Hartmann said the reported chill hours were well below average. Other adverse weather presented additional challenges for fruit producers.
Other factors like exceptionally warm weather between colder spells, retention of foliage late into the winter, and arid conditions in the fall also likely had a negative impact on fruit crop potential. A late frost that occurred in many regions across the state damaged flowers and young fruit, especially on crops like blueberries and early blooming, low-chill varieties of peaches.
Those issues led Hartmann to expect lower yields for most fruits.
“We will likely see a reduced crop for peaches, blueberries, apples and blackberries,” he said. “Asian persimmons, which require less chilling and tend to bloom later than many other fruit crops, survived the late frost and should have better yields.”
Peaches and apples suffered primarily from a lack of chill hours and frost in March.
Blueberry producers in Southeast Texas saw a hard freeze in late January, but have already begun their harvest and still have a decent crop. However, producers farther north are reporting heavy losses. Some reported 100% crop losses, especially where there was no protection against the frost in March.
Blackberries, a crop that blooms later, did not suffer significant frost damage. However, inadequate chill hours along the Gulf Coast and throughout Central Texas left producers with lighter fruit loads compared to growers in North Texas, reported Jacy Lewis, manager of the AgriLife Extension Viticulture and Fruit Lab in Fredericksburg, and Stephen Janak, AgriLife Extension program specialist, Hallettsville, both in the Department of Horticultural Sciences.
Strategies that support growers
Despite setbacks, Hartmann noted several management strategies producers employed to boost production.
Most fruit producers combat drought with some form of irrigation. Some growers utilize overhead irrigation, which can keep buds and flowers above a given critical temperature through heat generated by the continuous freezing of liquid water to ice, protecting buds from frost damage. Wind machines and other measures can also be employed during frost events associated with calm, clear conditions.
Some peach producers also use a chemical growth regulator to mimic the effect of chill hours.
“Hydrogen cyanamide can have the effect of supplementing some of the chill hours that the buds need to develop fruit and set a good crop,” Hartmann said.
Hartmann, however, said these products are not silver bullets. They can be difficult to obtain and apply during the growing season and are not effective for all crops or even specific varieties. They can also cause trees to bloom early, making them more susceptible to frost injury.
Growers in every region of the state employ different strategies to limit the impacts of adverse weather, but Hartmann said the best way to promote higher yields is to plant fruit varieties best adapted to their location.
“It’s very important to choose varieties that have a chilling requirement as close to what you’d typically expect to receive in your given region,” he said. “Some growers also diversify their varieties based on chill hours in the hopes of avoiding complete losses, but the closer you stay to your average expected chilling accumulation, the better your chances are of making a crop.”
To help growers across the state select the ideal crop and variety, Aggie Horticulture’s Fruit and Nut Fact Sheets provide the required chill hours for crops ranging from peaches to jujubes.
AgriLife Extension district reporters compiled the following summaries:
A map of the 12 Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service districts.
Panhandle
The district continued to experience extreme drought conditions with no rainfall, and overall soil moisture levels were very short to short. Pastures were in bad shape. Winter wheat, range and pasture conditions were very poor to poor. Grazing conditions were strained due to drought. Wheat harvest for silage purposes from irrigated wheat fields continued. Cotton and peanut producers were prewatering to work fields. A few growers planted their first acres of cotton while most waited for soil temperatures to warm. Final preplant tillage was underway in random fields scattered across the district.
South Plains
Subsoil and topsoil moisture levels remained short and conditions were windy. Some areas receive trace amounts of rainfall to 0.75 of an inch. April temperatures were higher than historic averages. Range and pasture conditions reflected drought, and grazing was limited, but cattle were in good condition. Producers were preparing for planting.
Rolling Plains
The district experienced heavy rainfall in southern counties, with hail and tornadoes in several areas. Some areas saw a slight improvement in topsoil moisture. Rainfall failed to materialize across northern counties, leaving conditions critically dry. Strong winds were causing pastures to dry up and early crops were dying off. Range and pasture conditions reflected persistent drought, and many cattle pastures were running low on forage, raising concerns about potential cow culling. Land preparation for warm-season crops continued, but more rain was needed to support crops. Wheat conditions varied across the district, and stock tanks were drying up, impacting livestock and wildlife.
North
Cooler conditions warmed up nicely toward the end of the week, creating prime growing conditions. Topsoil and subsoil moisture levels were short to adequate. Corn was coming along nicely and soybeans looked excellent. Wheat and oats were maturing through the dough stages, with some lodging occurring due to recent storms and wind. Reports of wheat stripe rust, leaf rust, powdery mildew and barley yellow dwarf were noted but only in parts of fields. Pastures and livestock were in good to excellent condition. Rangeland and pasture growth continued to benefit from recent moisture. Ryegrass and some early Bermuda grass hay harvesting was expected to begin soon. Grazing conditions were strong as livestock remained in good condition.
East
The district received a good amount of rain, with some areas reporting up to 4 inches. Despite the rainfall, some counties were still in drought. Topsoil and subsoil moisture levels were adequate. Growing conditions improved, but some producers had to wait for fields to dry before spraying weeds or spreading fertilizer. Pasture and rangeland conditions were fair to good, and pastures were greening up with the added moisture. Livestock were in fair to good condition with some supplementation still taking place. Cattle markets remained strong with overall higher prices. Producers continued to manage weed pressure, and hay cutting started in some areas. Ponds were slowly filling and improving water availability for livestock. Feral hogs and gophers continued to damage pastures and croplands across the district.
Far West
District conditions improved as cooler temperatures, increased cloud cover and periodic rainfall provided short‑term relief to soil moisture and reduced heat stress on crops. Soil moisture ranged from adequate to surplus in some areas, while others remained very short to short. Rainfall supported early crop development and pasture green‑up, though persistent winds of 10-20 mph with stronger gusts continued to elevate fire concerns and limit moisture retention. Field activities progressed as conditions allowed, with early harvesting beginning and planting continuing. Cotton planting was underway, with much of the Pima cotton emerged and some upland cotton planted. Pecan orchards received their second irrigation, and alfalfa fields showed mixed results due to poor‑quality water. Melon planting concluded. Corn was fully planted and emerged in some counties, and sorghum planting and emergence were progressing. Most wheat and oats were cut for hay, and what was left was mostly headed, with conditions ranging from poor to fair. Pasture conditions improved with recent rainfall, though forage remained limited and supplemental feeding continued. Livestock conditions ranged from fair to good. Feral hog activity increased, especially in newly planted fields. Overall, conditions improved slightly but remained dependent on continued rainfall and better water availability.
West Central
Moisture conditions remained good across some areas with additional rainfall reported during the week, but more moisture was needed. Some areas reported 1-3 inches of rainfall while others received trace amounts or nothing. More rainfall was in the forecast. Running water was improving stock tank levels. Pastures continued to grow and looked very good, and hay grazer planted before the rain emerged and was growing. Rangeland conditions improved, though overgrazed areas were slow to recover. Sudan grass fields were nearly ready to cut, Bermuda fields were a few weeks behind. Cattle looked good.
Central
Drought conditions continued to improve as light showers and scattered storms provided much‑needed relief. Benefits were mixed due to scattered rains, storm intensity and localized hail damage. Topsoil and subsoil moisture had improved but were still short to adequate. Cooler temperatures arrived. Pastures were responding well to rainfall and greening up, though cooler temperatures slowed summer grass growth. Producers were working to control weeds. Hay cutting began, and ponds were slowly filling for livestock. Grazing conditions remained good, and livestock were doing well on pasture with reduced supplemental feeding, though some herds experienced mud and storm stress. Corn looked good to excellent. Wheat continued to progress rapidly toward maturity, though yields were expected to be average to below average due to drought, Hessian fly and vernalization issues. Cotton was progressing despite cooler weather and wet soils. Winter oats were mostly grazed off. Producers were working to control early‑season insect pests. The cattle market remained strong with high prices for sellers, though purchasing replacement cattle continued to be challenging.
Southeast
Recent rainfall improved soil moisture and supported pasture and crop conditions, though moisture levels still varied widely from saturated soils to short conditions. Some areas experienced improved forage growth, better grazing and generally positive field conditions, while a few locations continued to report lingering drought conditions. Pasture and rangeland conditions were fair to good across much of the district, and livestock remained in fair to good condition with adequate forage availability. Crop conditions followed similar positive trends, with warm‑season crops and forages performing well and rice planting completed under favorable moisture conditions.
Southwest
A cold front brought more rain, providing topsoil moisture. Some areas received 1-4 inches of rain, and temperatures were in the upper 40’s overnight. Tomato and pepper harvests continued. Pecan nut casebearer presence remained low as pecan trees leafed out. Cool-season pastures were still growing, suggesting an extended growing season, which could interfere with warm-season growth. Overall, corn and sorghum conditions improved, but wheat and oat harvest was expected to be delayed due to recent rains. Corn began to silk. Range and pasture conditions continued to improve, and fertilization and weed control in pastures continued. Livestock was still under supplementation and in mostly fair condition.
Coastal Bend
Soil moisture greatly improved across much of the district following significant rainfall, with amounts ranging from 2-5 inches in most areas and some locations accumulating up to 6 inches. A few areas still reported being behind on rainfall, while fields in some areas remained slow to drain. Field conditions allowed cotton planting and cultivation to resume. All crops, including corn, grain sorghum and cotton, responded positively to the improved moisture, with early planted corn beginning to silk and rice fields flooded as planned. While all crop stands improved, there was still some variation in maturity across fields, and producers were concerned how earlier dry spells might impact final yields. Range and pasture conditions showed marked improvement, especially in well-managed or less-grazed fields. Prospects for a strong first hay harvest were good thanks to rain. Grazing conditions benefited livestock as cattle body condition continued to improve, and supplementation slowed considerably.
South
Seasonable, milder temperatures returned, and conditions improved across the district. Rainfall during April had been spotty, but 1-10 inches were received over the past two weeks in most areas. Some storms brought strong winds and tornado warnings, contributing to localized field damage and short‑term soil saturation. Soil moisture remained very short to short in many areas. More rain was forecast. Improved soil moisture reduced irrigation demand. Row crops were progressing well with recent moisture. Strawberries were still producing, though yields had decreased. Early planted corn with inconsistent stands had fully emerged and ranged from the fifth‑leaf stage to tasseling. Producers continued harvesting leafy greens, and peanut planting should begin soon. Wheat and oats were being harvested; cotton planting was complete with most fields emerged. Hay fields were nearing harvest. The onion harvest was nearly finished, and the citrus harvest had concluded. Some grain sorghum was replanted to take advantage of rainfall, and sesame planting continued. Range and pasture conditions steadily improved as grass yields increased. Grazing availability improved, and cattle producers slightly reduced supplementation. Markets continued to report low volumes with strong prices, and producers were still culling and selling calves. Feed prices remained high.
Join us for our next Business Development Meeting at the Nacogdoches County Chamber of Commerce boardroom, where we’ll take a closer look at what really makes a logo work.
In this interactive session, we’ll break down: • Why logos fail • What files you actually need • How to fix common issues
You’ll hear real examples, take part in a live session, and gain insight from a panel discussion with professionals who know what it takes to make your brand stand out in print.
LUFKIN, TEXAS — As part of the America 250 Celebration, the City of Lufkin and Angelina County invite the community to attend Honoring America’s Roots, a special tree planting ceremony presented by Angelina Beautiful Clean, taking place on May 26 at 2:00 PM at 115 E Shepherd Ave in Downtown Lufkin.
This meaningful event will bring residents, families, and community partners together to commemorate 250 years of American history while looking ahead to the future. The ceremony will include the dedication of a Liberty Tree, symbolizing growth, resilience, and the lasting impact of community.
“Planting a tree is a powerful way to honor where we’ve been while investing in what’s ahead. This ceremony reflects the spirit of Lufkin, rooted in history, strengthened by community, and focused on the future.” said Tara Hendrix, Director of Tourism at Visit Lufkin.
Honoring America’s Roots is one of several events taking place throughout Lufkin as part of the America 250 Celebration. These events are designed to bring people together through shared experiences that highlight history, culture, and community pride.
The event is free and open to the public, and all are encouraged to attend.
Organizations hosting events in recognition of America’s 250th anniversary are encouraged to contact Visit Lufkin to be included in the community-wide celebration.
Media Availability:
Emily Harmon, Executive Director, Angelina Beautiful Clean at eharmon@lufkintexas.org or (409)594-2188
Tara Hendrix, Director of Tourism, Visit Lufkin at visit@cityoflufkin.com or (936)633-0359
For more information and a full list of upcoming events, visit VisitLufkin.com.
The Men’s Fieldhouse will be holding an informational meeting about Toastmasters on May 12, 6:00 pm at 1813 E. Denman Ave.
Toastmasters provides a structured, supportive environment where individuals build confidence in public speaking, strengthen leadership abilities, and learn to think clearly under pressure. These are skills that directly translate into improved workplace performance—whether in meetings, presentations, customer interactions, or team collaboration.
We would love to see your business invest in the professional growth of your employees by encouraging participation in Toastmasters.
Please share the attached graphic with your employees.
Think about the businesses you trust most in this region.
The ones you recommend without hesitation. The ones you drive past three competitors to get to. The ones that feel solid — like they’ve been here, they’ll be here, and they know exactly who they are.
Now think about what they have in common.
It’s not that they’re the biggest. It’s not that they spend the most on advertising. It’s not that they have the flashiest website or the most followers on Facebook.
It’s that they feel the same everywhere you encounter them.
Their truck wrap matches their storefront sign. Their website sounds like the person who answers the phone. Their social media looks like it belongs to the same company as their business cards. The experience of interacting with them — whether online, in person, or on paper — is seamless.
That’s brand consistency. And it’s the quiet engine behind almost every trusted business in East Texas.
What inconsistency actually looks like
Most business owners don’t set out to create an inconsistent brand. It happens gradually.
The logo gets updated on the website but not on the Facebook page. A new employee creates a flyer using different fonts because they didn’t know the brand guidelines existed — because brand guidelines don’t exist. The owner writes a professional email to a client while the Instagram account sounds like it’s run by a completely different person.
Old business cards are still circulating with a phone number that changed two years ago. The Google Business Profile says one set of hours while the door sign says another. The proposal template uses colors that don’t match anything else.
Individually, none of these feel like a crisis. Collectively, they create friction. And friction erodes trust.
Why it matters here specifically
East Texas is a relationship market.
People do business with people they know, like, and trust. That trust is built through repeated, consistent interactions over time. Every touchpoint — every time someone encounters your business — is either reinforcing that trust or quietly undermining it.
In a metro market, a business might get away with some inconsistency because the volume of transactions compensates. In a market like ours, where reputation travels fast and relationships are long, every impression matters more.
When your brand feels polished and put-together in one place but disorganized or outdated in another, it creates a subtle dissonance. The customer might not be able to articulate what feels off. They just know something doesn’t quite add up. And in a market built on trust, “doesn’t quite add up” is enough to send them down the road.
The inventory most owners have never done
Here’s something worth doing this week. Grab a notepad and list every place your brand shows up.
Your storefront or office signage. Your vehicles. Your website. Your Google Business Profile. Facebook. Instagram. LinkedIn. YouTube. Business cards. Letterhead. Invoices. Proposals. Email signatures — not just yours, everyone on your team. Uniforms or branded apparel. Event booths. Print ads. Yard signs. Voicemail greeting.
Now go look at each one. Not quickly — actually look. Is the logo the same version in every location? Are the colors consistent? Does the description of your business say the same thing? Does the overall feeling match?
If you’re like most business owners I work with, you’ll find at least three or four places where things have drifted.
Fixing the drift
Spotting the inconsistencies is the first step. The deeper work is creating a system that prevents them from coming back.
That means having a documented set of brand standards — your official logo files, your exact color codes, your fonts, your voice and tone guidelines, your messaging hierarchy. It means making those standards accessible to everyone who creates anything on behalf of your business. And it means reviewing your touchpoints regularly, because brands drift. It’s natural. The discipline is in catching the drift before your customers do.
The businesses in East Texas that feel the most trustworthy aren’t the ones that never make mistakes. They’re the ones that present a unified front, day after day, touchpoint after touchpoint, in a way that says “we know who we are, and you can count on that.”
That’s not an accident. That’s a strategy.
Lee Allen Miller is the founder of MSGPR Ltd Co, a full-service creative agency in Lufkin, Texas, and author of Entrepreneurship God’s Way. For more insights on marketing and business growth, visit msgpr.com.
Real-time, day-ahead, and ancillary services — what each price means and why your bill looks the way it does.
Most business owners look at their electricity bill and see a single number — cents per kilowatt-hour. What that number doesn’t show is the layered, second-by-second auction running underneath it. Understanding that auction is the difference between being a passive ratepayer and being an informed buyer.
ERCOT runs three interlocking markets at once: a real-time energy market, a day-ahead market, and an ancillary services market. Together they decide what every megawatt of power costs at every node on the Texas grid, every five minutes of every day.
The Real-Time Market
Every five minutes, ERCOT runs a process called Security-Constrained Economic Dispatch (SCED). It looks at every generator’s offer to produce power, every transmission constraint on the system, and every megawatt of demand — then solves a massive optimization problem to find the lowest-cost mix of generation that keeps the grid balanced and stable.
The output is a Locational Marginal Price (LMP) at every settlement point on the grid. That price reflects the cost of delivering one more megawatt of power to that exact location. When transmission lines are uncongested and resources are plentiful, prices stay in the $20–$40 range. When constraints bind or supply tightens, prices can move to several thousand dollars within a single five-minute interval.
The Day-Ahead Market
The day before the operating day, ERCOT runs a financial market where participants can lock in prices for power they’ll consume or produce the next day. This gives generators certainty about how much they’ll run and gives load-serving entities a hedge against real-time price spikes.
If you’ve ever wondered why your fixed-rate contract is priced where it is, the day-ahead market is a big part of the answer. Retail providers use day-ahead and forward markets to hedge the load they’ve committed to serve at fixed prices.
Ancillary Services
Beyond just energy, ERCOT also procures reserves — generation and load resources held back to handle unexpected events. The main products are Regulation (responding to second-by-second imbalances), Responsive Reserve Service (RRS), Non-Spinning Reserve (Non-Spin), and the newer ERCOT Contingency Reserve Service (ECRS), which was designed to address the increased uncertainty that comes with a growing share of renewable resources.
Ancillary services costs have grown significantly as ERCOT has procured more reserves to manage variability. These costs eventually flow through to customers as part of the total cost of delivered power.
Where the Costs Show Up on Your Bill
Energy charge: the wholesale cost of the electricity itself, plus your provider’s margin and risk premium.
TDU delivery charges: what your wires company (Oncor, CenterPoint, AEP, TNMP) charges to physically deliver power to your meter. These are regulated and non-negotiable.
Ancillary and ERCOT fees: the cost of reserves, system operations, and ERCOT’s own administrative fees, often passed through.
Demand charges (commercial): based on your peak kW draw during a billing period. For many commercial customers, these can rival or exceed the energy charge itself.
If you don’t know your load factor, your peak demand pattern, and which ancillary costs are passed through versus baked into your rate, you’re not really negotiating your contract — you’re guessing.
Why This Matters Right Now
As Texas adds tens of thousands of megawatts of new load — much of it data centers running close to 100% of the time — the structure of the wholesale market will be tested. Real-time prices are likely to become more volatile during transition hours when solar generation ramps down and demand stays high. Ancillary service costs will continue to grow. Businesses that understand which of those costs flow through to them, and which can be hedged via contract structure, will pay materially less than businesses that don’t.
Take the Next Step
Not sure what’s actually driving your monthly electricity bill? Amerigy Energy provides a free bill audit that breaks down every line item — energy, delivery, ancillaries, demand, and pass-throughs — so you can see exactly where you’re spending and where you have leverage.
“If Jesus is the King, why didn’t He just order an army of angels to rescue Him?” asks Caleb, 10. “He could’ve blinked and zapped everybody!”
Caleb’s question might be exactly what Pontius Pilate was thinking during his famous conversation with Jesus in John 18:28–40. Pilate was the Roman governor who had the authority to set Jesus free or send him to die. But the more Pilate talked with Jesus, the more confused he became.
“Jesus told Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world,” says Lily, 11. “That means Jesus is a king, but not like any king Pilate had ever known.”
Let’s look at what happened. Pilate tried to figure out who Jesus was and why the Jewish leaders wanted Him dead. When Pilate asked, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world.” Then Jesus said something amazing: “Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice.”
Jesus didn’t try to impress Pilate. He didn’t beg for His life. Instead, he spoke calmly, clearly, and with authority. That’s because Jesus knew exactly who he was and why he came, to die for the sins of the world.
“Pilate was confused because Jesus didn’t act like someone trying to save himself,” says Ava, 10. “He acted like someone on a mission.”
Pilate didn’t know what to do. He even said, “I find no fault in him at all.” But instead of setting Jesus free, Pilate offered to release him as part of a Passover tradition. The crowd chose Barabbas, a criminal, instead.
Sometimes people want truth until it costs them something. Pilate was face-to-face with the Truth (Jesus), but instead of standing up for him, he gave in to the crowd.
“Pilate knew Jesus was innocent, but he didn’t have the courage to do what was right,” says Natalie, 12.
Pilate even asked, “What is truth?” but he didn’t wait for the answer. Truth was standing right in front of him, and he missed it.
Today, we face the same question: “What is truth?” In a world where people say, “Believe whatever you want,” Jesus tells us he is the truth (John 14:6). Truth isn’t just an idea. It’s a person. It’s Jesus.
“Jesus was on trial, but really Pilate was the one being tested,” says Evan, 11. “Jesus knew the truth, and Pilate had to decide if he believed it.”
Jesus didn’t come to build a kingdom with castles and armies. His kingdom is made up of people who listen to his voice and believe in him as their savior. That’s why Jesus didn’t fight back. He came to sacrifice himself so we could be born again into his forever kingdom.
We can learn a lot from this conversation: Jesus didn’t panic or argue, even when facing death. Pilate cared more about pleasing people than doing what was right. Truth isn’t always popular, but it’s always powerful. God’s kingdom is bigger than anything in this world.
“I think Jesus was showing Pilate and us that real power comes from God, not from governments or crowds,” says Hannah, 12.
Think About This: Jesus didn’t fight to save himself. That’s because he came to save us. Truth stood before Pilate, but he cared more about popularity than doing what was right.
Memorize This Truth: “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world’” (John 18:36).
Ask This Question: Are you so captivated by the lies of this world that you cannot hear the true voice of Jesus that is calling you to his forever kingdom where his light and love reign supreme?
Kids Talk About God is designed for families to study the Bible together. Research shows that parents who study the Bible with their children give their character, faith and spiritual life a powerful boost. To receive Kids Talk About God twice a week in a free, email subscription, visit www.KidsTalkAboutGod.org/email.
A simple step at the courthouse can lock in your school tax bill for life — and East Texas seniors don’t want to miss it.
For homeowners across Angelina, Nacogdoches, Sabine, Tyler, Polk, Jasper and the rest of the Texas Forest Country, turning 65 comes with a quiet but powerful gift: the ability to freeze the school portion of your property tax bill for the rest of your life. It’s one of the most valuable benefits Texas offers seniors — and one of the most overlooked.
Here’s how it works. You qualify for the exemption in the year you turn 65. Once your application is approved, the school district portion of your tax bill is locked in at the amount you paid that first qualifying year. This is officially called a “tax ceiling” under Texas law. Even if your appraised value rises or the school district raises its rate, your school taxes cannot go above that ceiling. They can drop in a year when rates fall — they just can’t climb back up.
A few important limits. The ceiling applies only to your homestead — the home you actually live in as your principal residence — not rental property or second homes. And the freeze covers only school district taxes. It does not freeze county, city, or special district taxes unless those entities have adopted their own ceilings (some have; ask your appraisal district). The benefit is available statewide, but it is not automatic. You must make sure your over-65 homestead exemption is on file with your county appraisal district.
The exemption itself also takes a substantial chunk off your taxable value. After Texas voters approved Proposition 13 and Proposition 11 in November 2025, the standard homestead exemption rose to $140,000 and the additional over-65 exemption rose to $60,000. Stacked together, that’s up to $200,000 shielded from school district taxes — enough to wipe out the school portion of the bill entirely for many East Texas seniors.
Applying is free, and you only have to do it once. Ask your county appraisal district for Form 50-114, the Application for Residence Homestead Exemption. Check the box for “Age 65 or Older,” attach a copy of your driver’s license showing your date of birth and the property address, and turn it in. In Angelina County, that’s the Angelina County Appraisal District at 105 Miles Way, Suite 300, in Lufkin, or call (936) 634-8456. Each surrounding county has its own appraisal district office that handles the same form.
A few more notes worth remembering. Some appraisal districts will add the over-65 exemption automatically if your date of birth is on file from your original homestead application — but don’t assume it. Confirm with a phone call. If you missed it, you can apply retroactively for up to two years and may receive a refund. If you sell and move within Texas, you can transfer the percentage of your tax ceiling to your new homestead by requesting a transfer certificate. And if a spouse 55 or older outlives a qualifying homeowner, the freeze continues on that home. Major improvements like adding a room or garage can nudge the ceiling upward, but ordinary repairs won’t.
If you’re approaching 65 — or already there and haven’t filed — make the call this week. A short visit to your appraisal district could be the most valuable hour you spend all year.
This information is provided as general information. Be sure and verify with your local taxing authority what their rules may be.
